


Things We Lost In The Fire

by the_technicolor_whiscash



Category: Jurassic Park - All Media Types, Jurassic World Trilogy (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dinosaurs, Found Family, I dont even know how to describe it really, Multi, Post-Fallen Kingdom, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 18:31:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15913872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_technicolor_whiscash/pseuds/the_technicolor_whiscash
Summary: After the events of Fallen Kingdom, Owen receives a call from none other than Alan Grant, asking to talk about the recent activity on and off Isla Nublar. They begin to realize that Maisie might be in danger, and must work together to help protect her.





	1. the beginning

**Author's Note:**

> yes the title is the bastille song but that song is an absolute banger ok

It wasn’t until he got the call that Owen realized he was expecting it. An unknown number. He let it ring, but the moment he heard the voice through the answering machine, he knew it was someone important. 

“Hello, Mr Grady,” said the voice of someone who spends too much time in the desert heat, “I’m Alan Grant. If you’ve got a free moment, I’d like to meet up with you somewhere. I’m sure you can guess what I want to discuss.”

The voice disappeared for a moment. Then, he spoke again. 

“This is a serious thing you’ve done, son. Very serious. You can get back to me at this number.”

Just before Grant hung up the phone, Owen grabbed it and picked it up. “Sorry, I just got home.” A lie, but Grant didn’t need to know that. “There’s a bar nearby. Hurley’s. We can meet there. I’m free when you’re free.”

“Ten PM tomorrow. Be there.”

“I will, sir.”

\------------

Alan almost laughed as he hung up the phone. He had never been that serious with anyone over the phone, ever. He was rarely ever that intense in real life. But this was serious, and that Owen fellow needed a serious attitude towards it. 

In the time since the first Jurassic World incident, Alan had been reading up on Owen. Celebrated animal behaviorist, known best for his ability to command the velociraptors. And that was what he was doing, commanding them, not controlling them. Those creatures could not be controlled, no matter what genetic hell you put them through. They were their own masters. And they would only listen for so long.

No other dinosaurs have listened to commands like the velociraptors had. You couldn’t control a t-rex with a clicker and a piece of meat. Then again, velociraptors were far smarter than a rex. They were smaller, faster, and just as ferocious, though they may not have had the same biting power as something with a mouth as big as your entire body.

And now, they were loose. Not just this velociraptor named Blue, but many other species of dinosaur. Almost a dozen. And somewhere, buried inside some bunker or another, there was bound to be more. 

That was why Alan needed to talk to Owen. Because these creatures were out in the world, with nothing stopping them except their own free will. The carnivores were the biggest of threats. A rex roaming the streets of San Diego for an evening cause carnage, but now that it had the whole world at its teeth, nothing could stop it. And that’s not to mention the other smaller carnivores, or the Compys, which are bound to garner lawsuits by the dozens. And the herbivores wouldn’t eat people, but the damage caused by a triceratops through the living room is incalculable. 

Alan prayed that they would simply stay in the woods. But he had begun to question the existence of a god after he first left that island. It only went downhill from there.

\------------------

“Alan Grant wants to talk to you? Why?” Claire asked, a cup of coffee in her hands. 

Owen sat beside her at the breakfast nook. They had been living in Claire’s place ever since the… incident. “I have no idea. I wonder if he somehow feels like I’m responsible for all this. In a way, I am. But not like he thinks.”

“Maybe he’s mad because he thinks you’re putting him out of a job.”

“Ha. As if. There’ll always be a need for paleontologists.”

Claire nodded. “True. The dinosaurs we had at Jurassic World were a percent of a percent of the total population. There could be millions of species we haven’t discovered yet, just because they haven’t been found. But you and Grant might have more in common than you think.”

Owen gave her a skeptical look. “Oh, really? And what’s that?”

“Raptors. They were, and as far as I know, still are his specialty. He studied the behavior of them.”

“But the raptors he knows are different from the ones I know.”

“Why, cause they’re fossils?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Hate to break it to you, but he was on that island too. And Isla Sorna. He’s had experience with all kinds of raptors. Mainly the nasty ones.”

“Those raptors are still different. The ones from Jurassic World were more like the real thing. InGen did more research.”

Claire sighed, trying and failing to hide an eye roll. “We still took plenty of creative liberties. If you want real raptors, go find a chicken.”

“Chickens don’t have teeth.”

“No, but they are just as homicidal.”

A laugh escaped Owen’s lips. “Alright, you got me there. But still, on the phone, he sounded like he wanted to wring my neck.”

“Dr Grant wouldn’t do that.”

Owen’s eyes narrowed. “And how would you know?”

“Because I met him. We had him come to Jurassic World once and give us his input.”

“What’d he think?”

“He thought it was awful. Said that we had gone from a science theme park to a… how did he put it? Blatant cash grab, with more corporate sponsorship than Hammond would have allowed in his life.”

“Jesus. I thought he hated Hammond.”

“He did. Which says a lot about what he thought about the park.” Claire took a pensive sip of her coffee. “Dr Sattler was more polite. She thought we had constructed it better than the original, but it still wasn’t a good idea.”

“And Malcolm?”

“God. Malcolm was the worst. He said that the whole thing would come crashing down around our heads.”

“He was right.”

“Yeah. He was right about this one, just like he was right about the last one. If only he weren’t so smug about it.”

“Malcolm’s a bastard. A smart one, I’ll give him that. But he seems to take joy in proving people wrong.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I think it’s because he knows he’s the smartest person in the room.”

Owen nodded. “Right. Bastard.” 

“Fine, if you wanna go that route. Just don’t use that language around Maisie.”

He shrugged. “What? She’s gonna learn how to swear someday.”

“Yes, just not from you.” Claire checked her watch. “Speaking of that, she’s got school in ten minutes.” Leaving Owen with a peck on the cheek, she headed down the hall.

Owen smiled after her. He knew full well he did not deserve such a wonderful woman, and yet she still seemed to love him. It made his heart swell with adoration. Out of everyone, she chose to spend her time with him. And now, they had an addition to their… family. 

He had never been a father before. Truthfully, Owen never planned on being a parent at all. Kids just weren’t his forte. But when he met Maisie, and saw the absolute hell that child had been through, he realized he would have to step up and take care of her as his own. And Claire was there to help him every step of the way.

“Good morning, Owen.” Maisie said, sliding into the chair Claire had vacated. 

“Hiya, honey. Sleep well?”

She shook her head. “Not really.”

“Having nightmares again?”

She nodded.

The toaster popped, and Owen quickly put the two Eggo waffles on a plate, doused it in syrup, and placed it in front of her. “Do you think a night light would help? Or maybe white noise or something?”

“I don’t know.” Maisie muttered, picking hesitantly at the waffles. 

“Well, I’ll tell you this,” He said, lowering his head so they were looking eye to eye, “we’ll find a way to make the nightmares stop. No matter what it takes. Alright?”

Maisie nodded. “Alright.”

“Good. Now eat quick. You’ve got school in seven minutes.” 

“Do I have to go? We’re doing fractions today. I hate fractions.”

“Everyone hates fractions. But the sooner you do it, the sooner it’ll be over, and you can move on to the fun parts of school. Like recess. I got an A in recess.”

Claire came walking down the hall, having shed her pajamas and was now wearing something that could only be described as business casual. She made it look stylish. “That does not surprise me. Now, it’s time to go.”

“Right.” Maisie said. She slid out of the chair, gave Owen a quick hug, and grabbed her backpack. “Bye, Owen.” 

“Bye, Maisie.” He waved. “Good luck on those fractions.”

As she and Claire left, Owen couldn’t help but smile. This was his family. Three extraordinarily damaged people, who loved, helped, and supported each other. A real family.

About fourteen hours later, Owen sat in a booth at Hurley’s bar, slowly nursing a slightly crappy beer. Grant was due to arrive in a few minutes, but Owen wanted to get here early. Get a feel for the room. Have a little bit of liquid courage. Observe the bar patrons whose level of intoxication ranged from “slight morning headache” to “completely blasted.” 

And that was when Grant walked in. Instantly recognizable by his sun-weathered face and cowboy hat, Grant was the most stereotypical paleontologist Owen had ever seen. The guy probably had a fossil sitting on his bedside table. 

“Mr Grady.” Grant said, holding out a hand. 

Owen stood and shook it. “Dr. Grant. It’s a pleasure.”

They sat, and Grant ordered a gin and tonic. Once the waiter brought his drink, they began discussing the matter at hand.

“I wonder, Mr Grady,” Grant began, “if you have any idea whatsoever what you’ve done.”

“Now, hold on.” Owen held up his hands. “This wasn’t just my doing. This all starts and ends with Lockwood and Hammond and their money-grabbing schemes.”

“Yes, but they weren’t the ones who opened up the doors to release them onto the mainland.”

Owen scratched his head. “I’ve gotta ask, did you give this same level of shit to Malcolm when InGen brought over the rex?”

Grant seemed unfazed by the rather rude way Owen had spoken to him. “Yes, I did. Though admittedly, not in the same way. Malcolm only went back to the island to get his girlfriend back. The rest of that nonsense happened because of InGen.”

“And if I’m not mistaken, you went back to Isla Sorna, didn’t you? And didn’t a member of your party attempt to steal raptor eggs?”

Grant sighed. “Yes, that was Billy. He wasn’t thinking at the time. None of us were. We were tricked onto that island.”

“So were we!” Owen exclaimed. “I want you to explain to me how the hell my situation is any different from yours.”

“You released dinosaurs onto the mainland. Has it ever occured to you that your Blue won’t listen to anyone but you? She’s still a wild animal. You can train a wolf to listen, but you can’t train it not to hunt.”

“Blue’s not a wolf.” 

“No, she’s a six foot tall, highly intelligent killing machine. If it can kill that indoraptor, it can kill anything.”

“Well, she had a little help from gravity.”

Grant sighed. “Listen, Owen. I know what you did was out of goodness. A level of morality. That’s good. But you’ve unleashed a terror out into the world. What happens when the first person gets eaten? What happens when the t-rex makes a meal off of a group of campers, or an allosaurus eats a college student? A pteranodon steals a baby? Then what happens? You and Claire and those with you are going to be held responsible, both morally and legally.”

Owen sipped his beer and thought for a moment. “I wasn’t the one who pushed that button, you know.”

“Fine, it was Claire. Either way-”

“It wasn’t Claire either. It was Maisie.”

Grant frowned. “The little girl?”

“Yes. She didn’t want them to die.” He lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. “She’s a clone. Just like them. She felt a… I don’t know, a kinship with them.”

“A clone? Of who?”

“Her mother. Well, I guess it’s her mother. What do you call the parent organism of a clone?”

“No idea. But that… I had no idea.” Grant contemplated this information. “You’re still going to catch the flack for this. Who else knows?”

“Just me, her, and Claire.”

“Good. Keep it that way. If anyone finds out, genetic companies will be after her by the dozens. She won’t be safe.”

“Shit.” Owen muttered. “She just wants to be a normal kid.”

“You and Claire are taking care of her?”

“Yeah. She’s like a daughter to me.”

“That’s good. You seem like a smart man. You’ll be able to keep her safe.”

Owen sighed. “I hope so. No one tells you how complicated raising a child is.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Really? You and Dr Sattler never had any?”

“No. And Ellie respects that.”

“You two are still close?”

Grant chuckled. “You could say that.”

Well, that was a wildly ambiguous answer. “Good for you.”

“It’s hard not to latch on to people with similar experiences as you. And there aren’t many people who’ve been through what we’ve been through.” Grant gazed thoughtfully at his gin and tonic, which he’d barely touched. “But there will be many, many more with these dinosaurs on the mainland.”

“I know. And I want to do whatever I can to make sure us and the dinosaurs can live side by side, without too much damage being done.”

“So do I, son. So do I.”


	2. Chapter 2

It was around eleven when Owen got home. He and Grant had discussed further the ethics of dinosaurs on the mainland, its effects on the paleontological community, and the repercussions should a dinosaur be captured by another genetics company. Claire was already in bed when he got home.

“So what did Dr Grant want to talk about?” She asked, scrolling through her twitter feed. 

“Dinosaur stuff. The morals and ethics of having dinosaurs on the mainland. That kind of thing.” Owen replied, changing into his pajamas. “And something concerning Maisie.”

“What kind of something?”

“If anyone finds out she’s a clone, she could be in danger. Dinosaur cloning is one thing, but human cloning… Claire, I’m worried about her.”

“I hadn’t even considered that. If any of the research from that lab gets out, she could have people after her.” She put her phone on the bedside table and closed her eyes. “Shit. What should we do?”

“I don’t know. She just wants to be a normal kid and live a normal childhood. I don’t know how we can give that to her, and give her the protection she needs.” He slid into bed under the sheets and put his arms around Claire. The subtle sound of her breathing was doing wonders on his nerves. 

“We’ll find a way. We always do.”

After a minute or so of silence, Owen brought up something that had been bugging him. “What does it mean when you ask someone if they’re in a relationship with someone else, and they reply with ‘you could say that?’”

“Why? Who’d you ask?”

“Grant. I asked if he was still close with Ellie Sattler, and he said,” He emulated Grant’s voice as best he could, “‘you could say that.’”

“He, Sattler, and Malcolm have a long and complicated history.”

“Really? Malcolm too?”

“Oh, yeah. Rumor has it the three of them are together, and have been for decades.”

Owen’s jaw dropped. “Seriously? I’m sorry, but I cannot see Grant being romantically involved with anyone, much less Malcolm.”

“The heart does mysterious things. Look at us.”

“I guess. But it’s still weird.” Owen closed his eyes, burying his nose into Claire’s hair. They used the same shampoo, but she always seemed to carry the scent for longer. “You were right, you know. About Grant and I being similar. It’s weird. I thought he would be some scratchy old paleontologist, but I can actually relate to him. He’s a cool guy.”

“A cool guy who knows just as much about dinosaurs as you do.”

“Pretty much. We should invite him over for dinner some time.”

“You know if you invite him, you’re going to have to invite Sattler and Malcolm too.”

“Sattler will be nice, I’m sure. Malcolm… well, we’ll just have to see.”

“No matter what happens, you are prohibited from throwing anything at him from across the table.”

“Aww, not even the butter?”

“Especially not the butter. Why is that your first thought?”

“I like butter! Especially the whipped kind you get at restaurants. That’s the good stuff.”

Claire scoffed playfully. “You’re such a weirdo. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

\--------------

Meanwhile, in an unnamed bunker buried in the desert, Henry Wu glanced over his notes. Now that the dinosaurs were out on the mainland, it would be difficult to secure funding to continue his genetic research. Plus, once it got out that he was practicing human cloning, the human rights organizations would shut him down immediately. If there was one thing those people were, it was vigilant. 

The clone, Maisie, was an exact duplicate of her deceased mother. And she knew she was a clone. The dinosaurs, none of them were self aware. They were just beasts, controlled and kept in cages. But Maisie was a living, breathing person, created in a test tube. Was it immoral? Unethical? Hell, ethics didn’t matter to him. He was the man who brought back the dinosaur. Not Hammond, not Lockwood. It was him. And the world still had no idea who he was.

Well, not for long. Lockwood’s people were still ordering him around, but the power players had mostly been eaten by dinosaurs. It wouldn’t take him long to get out of the nondisclosure agreement and reveal to everyone just what Lockwood and Hammond had him doing. Would he be seen as a martyr or a mad scientist, only time will tell.

But all he knew was that he had made fantastic, unbelievable contributions to science that were all but unnoticed, because Hammond was too busy sticking his head up his own ass. And he was rich. Gloriously rich. He invested most of his money in real estate and whatnot, but now was the time for him to take advantage of the millions he had stashed away. 

And he was going to expose those bastards, whether they liked it or not.

\------------

“So you’re the dinosaur man.” Maisie said to Dr Grant. She had heard of him, heard Owen and Claire’s discussions of him and the other scientists who were now sitting in their living room. 

“That I am. You must be Maisie. I’ve heard a lot about you. You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”

Maisie nodded. “Quite a lot. I’m the one who released the dinosaurs.”

Dr Sattler, who had been sitting on the other side of the couch, seemed to hear that, and looked over. “Alan mentioned that. Do you like dinosaurs?”

“Not really.” Maisie made an effort to smile. These were people who had dedicated their lives to dinosaurs, after all. “I like the herbivores. And some of the little carnivores. But not the big ones.”

 

“I can see why.” Dr Malcolm said from across the room. “You’re a brave little girl. I should introduce you to my daughter. She’s had some, ah, negative experiences with dinosaurs before too.”

“What’s her name?”

“Kelly. I think she was just a little bit older than you when she hitched along to Isla Sorna with me. She’s an adult now, and a fantastic biologist. I think she’d like you.”

“So she actually went to the island?”

“Yes she did, against my wishes. But we both made it out of there alive, and mostly unharmed, which is more than I can say for a lot of people who’ve come face to face with dinosaurs.”

Maisie nodded. “I know.”

\-------------

Owen popped his head into the living room. “Dinner’s ready, guys.” 

He made his way back to the dining room table. Normally, the table was only ever set for three, but they added another leaf and some more chairs to accommodate the additions. Claire left him responsible for setting the table, and he did it as well as he knew how. He didn’t, really, but he could guess, and that was good enough.

They had barbecued up some pulled pork, thrown together some pasta salad, and got a bag of chips from the grocery store. It wasn’t exactly gourmet, but it was bound to taste good.

“So you’re the dino wrangler.” Malcolm said, the first to enter. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”

“Owen Grady.” Owen said. “I would offer you my hand, but,” He held up his oven-mitted hands, having just placed the large bowl of pork on the table.

“I’ve gotta ask, why did you invite all three of us? Alan can handle himself.”

“Claire wanted me to. Plus, all three of you have had experience with dinosaurs. That’s gotta come in handy somehow.”

“Right you are.” Ian lowered his voice. “So your little girl, she was the one who let em out?”

“Yeah. Says something about the empathy of a child.”

“Alan told me the whole thing. She really is a clone?”

“She is. She was the one who found out.” Owen glanced towards the doorway, making sure no one was coming in. “What do you think’s gonna happen to her? In your professional scientist chaos-y opinion?”

“It’s hard to tell. As far as we know, no one’s ever cloned a human before. But, given the fact she was created from a complete DNA strand, from a living or only recently dead organism, it’s possible she could be, essentially, a perfect duplicate of her mother.”

“Will she live a normal life?”

“What defines normal? If you’re asking what are the chances she’ll grow tentacles out of her face, extremely low. If you’re wondering whether or not she’ll have an average human lifespan… it’s hard to tell. When Dolly the sheep was cloned, she died younger than the average sheep, of a disease older sheep normally get. Honestly, I have no idea. But for now, she’s a normal child, living a normal life.”

“Good. I’ll try and keep it that way.”

“First time being a father?”

“It is.” Owen said, sliding the mits off of his hands. 

“How you finding it?”

“I’m glad I missed the diaper stage, I’ll tell you that.” Owen laughed. “But I like it more than I thought I would. No idea how we’re going to pay for her college or anything, but that’s a ways off.”

“Start prepping early. Take it from me.”

“Got it.” 

So, maybe Owen had been wrong about Malcolm. He was wrong about a lot of things. 

“What are you boys talking about?” Said the beaming voice of Dr Sattler. She had the unique ability to light up any room she entered. Much like Claire.

“Stuff and things.” Malcolm replied. Not wrong. 

“Sure. I’ll believe that when ‘stuff and things’ becomes a field of study.”

“What’s taking them so long?”

“Alan is describing the herd structure of the Apatosaurus, and when he gets going, you can’t stop him.”

Owen smiled. “Ah, of course. Wouldn’t want to interrupt that.”

 

\--------------

After dinner had wound down, Ellie offered to help Claire in the kitchen, which she happily accepted. Owen was always willing to help, he just had the tendency to break something in the process. 

“Maisie’s a wonderful kid.” Ellie said, over the sink. 

“I know. We’re trying our best as her legal guardians.” Claire sighed. “But it’s hard sometimes. I’ve never really had to deal with kids before. And… I’m worried about her.”

Ellie nodded. “Alan told me the whole thing. How has she been lately?”

“She gets nightmares all the time, and she hasn’t been getting enough sleep. Part of me wants to send her to a counselor, but I think she’d want to talk to someone with the same experiences as her. And no one’s been through what she’s been through.”

“We have, in a way.”

“But none of us are clones. As far as I know, no one else on earth is.”

They fell into silence for a moment. Then, Ellie spoke. “Well, if you ever need a babysitter, feel free to call us.”

Claire smiled slightly. “Thanks. You know, when Owen said he wanted to invite you all over for dinner, I was shocked. He’s not really a people person at all. It took me breaking up with him to convince him not to live in a van down by the river.”

“Wow. That’s bad.”

“I know. Half the time he’s covered in dirt, and the other half sweat. I don’t understand how he does it.”

Ellie laughed. “Men.”

“You’ve got it even worse, you’ve got two of them.”

“Well, Ian is so tidy that he polishes his shoes every other night, and I’ve just conceded to the fact that Alan has a layer of dust permanently ingrained in his skin.”

“They seem like total opposites.”

“I know. And initially, it caused some friction. But opposites attract, I guess. And we make it work.”

Claire nodded. “That’s good. It’s taken some time for Owen and I to find our footing. But with Maisie here now, I think we both feel like it’s our responsibility to stay on good terms.” She sighed. “Is that bad?”

“Are you happy?”

“Yes. Surprisingly, I am.”

“That’s the important thing. How you get there is just details.”

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to the thunderdome kids


End file.
